ailing List
A M e l i s s a D a t a W h i t e Pa p e r
Saturation Mail:
A “Best Kept Secret” No More
Saturation Mail: A “Best-Kept Secret” No More
Saturation Mail: A“Best-Kept Secret” No More
As postal rates continue to rise every year, mailers must find creative and clever ways to cut costs, while
maintaining the value of their direct mail campaigns. Talk about pressure. But there is a solution. And it’s
something you probably haven’t heard too much about.
The solution is…Saturation.
A saturation mailing is an inexpensive way to reach the majority of residents in a localized area by “saturating”
every household or business in a postal carrier route with your direct mail. A postal carrier route is a group
of addresses a postal carrier delivers in their regular daily route.
Why is saturation mailing such a well-kept secret? Because many people just assume a saturation mailing
is more complicated than it really is. But in fact, saturation mailing is one of the least expensive and easiest
ways to mail. It’s about time that saturation mailing got its due – and soon it will be a secret no more.
What is Saturation Mail?
Saturation mailings enable you to cost-effectively target entire neighborhoods within a ZIP®, city, radius or
county. To qualify for the maximum saturation mail discounted postage rate, your mailing must meet two
requirements:
1. The mailing must follow the 90/75 Rule, which means you must mail to at least 90 percent of residential
addresses, or at least 75 percent of the total number of residential and business addresses in a given carrier
route.
2. The mailing must be sorted in “Walk Sequence” order – the actual sequence that the postal carrier walks
the route.
Mailing in Walk Sequence order saves the Postal Service™ the time, labor and money it would have spent
sorting, coding and processing your mailing, which in turn means a faster and more cost-effective delivery
of your mail. To reward you for making its job easier, the Postal Service provides discounts that can slash
your costs – saving you up to 24 cents on every piece you mail.
Even though you’re making the Postal Service’s job easier doesn’t mean you have to do all the work. The
saturation mailing list you purchase from your list provider will be in Walk Sequence order.
Why Saturation Mail Works
Saturation mailing works for any size business, but it’s especially profitable for local businesses such as
auto dealerships, medical offices, boutique retailers, and restaurants – businesses that rely on walk-in
traffic, and benefit from strong word of mouth.
Saturation mailing will help reinforce customer retention and acquisition efforts by giving you the vehicle to
deliver your messages straight to nearby residents’ mailboxes.
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Saturation Mail: A “Best-Kept Secret” No More
Benefits of Saturation Mail
» Localize and saturate an area by ZIP Code™, radius, city or county
» Save 24 cents off First-Class postage or 4-5 cents off Standard Mail® rates
» Increase brand recognition within community
» Mail directly to potential customers in a targeted area
» Lower your cost per lead by as much as 70 percent
How Saturation Mail Works
The 90/75 Rule
If a carrier’s route consists of 500
addresses, 400 of which are residences, your saturation mailing
would have to reach:
» 90 percent (or 360 of the 400 residential addresses)
OR
» 75 percent (or 375 of all addresses in the carrier route)
The first step to doing a saturation mailing is to get your hands on the
right mailing list – a saturation list, also known as an occupant list.
These mailing lists contain all the addresses in a particular area and
are usually prepared by a commercial list provider. Make sure the list
you purchase contains a carrier route and walking sequence number,
to qualify your mailing for the maximum saturation discount rates.
Saturation mailing lists offer local businesses greater value per record,
since postage and the cost per lead are much lower than more targeted consumer and business lists. A saturation mailing list typically costs
up to 70 percent less than a consumer or business list, so your cost
per lead can be as low as $.01/lead – compared to $0.08/lead for a
consumer/business list. While a consumer or business list allows you
to pull from a wide range of demographic criteria to target prospects,
such as age of individual, total household income, length of residence
– it can still be more cost-effective to purchase a saturation list and
mail to a larger group with an offer that has a wide appeal, such as a
grand opening or a local sale – to draw walk-in traffic.
Since postal rates are much lower for saturation mailings, you can
buy a larger list and mail out more pieces. For example, you can send
out 10,000 pieces in a saturation mailing for the same price of 1,000
pieces with names on a consumer/business list.
And you can still target and narrow your saturation list using selects
such as post office boxes, rural routes, apartments, and residential
and business addresses.
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A saturation mailing
list typically costs
up to 70 percent less
than a consumer or
business list.
Saturation Mail: A “Best-Kept Secret” No More
How to Save Money with Saturation Mail
The Postal Service offers saturation mailing rates beginning at $0.179
cents per piece for businesses as an incentive to presort the mailing
in Walk Sequence. If you compare the saturation rate to the Standard
Basic Letter rate of $0.234 cents, you’re saving 4-5 cents per piece.
Nonprofits can reap even more savings, with postage rates as low as
$0.108 cents per piece. You can save even more by actually delivering your mail to a Bulk Mail Center (BMC) or Sectional Center Facility
(SCF).
Here’s an example of how saturation mailing can help you save
precious marketing dollars:
Scenario: A local pizza restaurant just opened and wants to promote
its grand opening to nearby residents and businesses. So the restaurant decides to conduct a direct mail campaign with a $10 off lunch
coupon to drive walk-in traffic. The mailing uses a standard-sized envelope and weighs 3.3 oz. The saturation rate per mail piece is $0.179;
the Standard Basic Letter rate is $0.234; and the First-Class rate is
$0.769. The restaurant wants to mail 5,000 pieces.
How to Qualify for
Saturation Mailing
Send only these mail-types:
» Sales or promotional messages
» Letters, cards or flats
» At least 200 sorted and addressed pieces all the same size, shape and weight
» Saturation mailing lists are not recommended for First-Class mailings
Follow these rules:
» Mail must be sorted in Walk Sequence order
» Mail must satisfy the 90/75 Rule
» No personal letters
Option 1 – Saturation Mailing: If the restaurant conducts a saturation mail campaign to announce its grand opening, its total mailing
cost is only $895.
Option 2 – Standard Mailing: If the restaurant chose the Standard
» No bills, invoices or statements
» No contracts
» No valuables or currency
Mail route, it would have spent $1,170, or 31 percent more than a
saturation mailing.
Option 3 – First-Class Mailing: If the restaurant chose to send
mail First-Class, it would have spent $3,845, or a whopping 330
percent more!
Conclusion
Saturation mailings are a cost-effective way to target specific areas
and find those most likely to purchase your products and services.
Not only does saturation mailing provide a way to deal with postal rate
hikes –the mailing is easy to perform. Just remember the 90/75 Rule
and make sure your mailing is in Walk Sequence order. That’s it. Your
list broker will know exactly what you need.
Saturation mailing may be a well-kept secret, but it won’t be for long.
By saturating your local community with an offer to drive walk-in traffic
or announce a grand opening or sale, you’ll not only save money on
www.MelissaData.com
Saturation mailing lists
are not recommended
for First-Class mailings.
Saturation Mail: A “Best-Kept Secret” No More
marketing expenses, you’ll also improve your customer retention and
acquisition efforts by targeting your best market – your neighbors.
About Melissa Data Corp.
Melissa Data is an active DMA member, and a member of the DMA’s
List and Database Council. For more than 23 years, the company
has been a leading provider of direct marketing and mailing solutions with emphasis on U.S. and Canadian address and phone verification, postal encoding and NCOALink® processing. The company
also offers a wide variety of USPS® CASS™/DPV™ processed
mailing lists that are available online, 24/7 and come with a 100%
deliverability and best price guarantee. For more information, visit
www.MelissaData.com or call 1-800-MELISSA.
Saturation mail is a great
way to:
» Announce grand opening events
» Draw large crowds to your store
» Target all addresses in an area
» Establish brand recognition
» Increase walk-in traffic
» Get to know all your neighbors
Saturation mailings help
you target your best
market – your neighbors.
Melissa Data is a nonexclusive Interface Distrubutor of NCOALink Full Service Provider.
www.MelissaData.com
Saturation Mail: A “Best-Kept Secret” No More
Your 8-Step Saturation Mail Checklist
Ok, so now that you’ve decided to go with saturation mailing – how do you get started?
Here’s a quick, easy checklist of all the things you need to be ready with before you hit the
post office.
1. Obtain a Bulk Mail Permit from your local post office.
You must have a valid mailing permit before you can mail at presorted postage rates. You
have to pay a fee when you apply and when you renew the permit every 12 months.
2. Determine your payment type and obtain authorization from the post office.
a. Precanceled Stamps – If you want your mail to look more personalized, you can use precanceled stamps.
b. Meter – Using a postage meter is a convenient way to pay for postage.
c. Imprint – You can have permit imprint information called an indicia, which is printed in the upper right hand corner of the mailpiece.
3. Get materials and supplies from the post office, including rubber bands, trays and sleeves.
4. Buy tie straps for when you bundle your mail.
5. Obtain a walk sequence mailing list.
6. Verify that your mailing qualifies for Enhanced Carrier Route (ECR) rates.
7. Measure your mailpiece to see if it qualifies for letter or flat rates.
The size of your mailpiece will determine what rates are available to you. Standard Mail
includes letters, cards or flats. All the pieces in your mailing must be the same shape,
size and weight.
8. For more details, go to www.usps.com/businessmail101
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